Unit 66: Digital Video Production

Task 1

Principles of Digital Video

Analogue Camera

An Analogue camera uses a plastic ribbon sprayed with metal to record the images. Analogue cameras were recorded magnetically, using Iron Oxide to spray the tape onto which would allow it to be magnetised. This allowed the tape to record what the camera was seeing.

An Analogue camera works simply; light comes down the lens of the camera, which hits a sensor. The amount of light is turned into electric values and depends on the value of brightness. The higher the value the brighter the light, the lower the value the dimmer the light.

Digital Camera

A Digital camera works similarly; in regards that light goes down the lens and hits a sensor. However, there are two types of sensors CCD (Charged Couple Device) and CMOS (Complementary Metal Sensor).

Both sensors have pixel arrays and read the value and the colour of the light coming in. It is then saved in binary on a digital card (SD Card).

Hybrid Camera

A Hybrid camera is exactly as implied, it has qualities of both an Analog and Digital Camera. It is a type of camera that is recorded onto metal tape. Reading electrical values (brightness) like the Analog but initially saved onto tape in digital form (Binary in 1 and 0’s.)

Colour Model

RBG

All screens are generated with different values of RBG (Additive Colour System).

Recording

When it comes to recording, digital video is measured in FPS (Frames per second). FPS indicates how many pictures appear on screen per second. Recording rates differentiate between countries.

25 PAL which is an abbreviation for (Phase Alternating Line) is the standard used by Britain. 30 NTSC (National Television Standard Council) is the standard for America. 24 FPS is the standard for movies and cinemas worldwide.

The resolution is important

Resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels in a single frame. A picture can be drawn in two types of ways

Three-point lighting is classic lighting,

Research ( Sets )

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Bright, Vibrant, Casual clothes Type font is larger, Replication of Graffiti, Teenager Like, Softer, more comfortable chairs, is not bombarded by lights, an easy, relaxing scene. Light blue to replicate calm, not to cause anxiety or panic. Presenters hold scripts, their clothing is less formal, the tone is softer, less direct.

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Bold colours, Red = Urgency, Breaking news, Important to pay attention. The scene is more formal, swivel chairs instead of a comfortable couch. Three-point lighting, Screen is rectangular, has more edge, more formality, less welcoming and more formal. The woman maintains contact, feels more strict and direct to the viewer. No script in hands, pen suggests work, business. Clothing is more mature,

Design Layouts

News Spoof Script

[News Intro Fades: Scene Opens to News Studio]

A: Good Afternoon, you are watching Neverland News where there is never not something occurring. This is your host [Anchors Name] with the latest news.

A: Tonight’s news we will be uncovering a series of events that have occurred over the past twenty-four hours:

A: Our first story of the night involves the infamous pirate, Captain Hook who is most known for the highest amount of restraining orders against a person in history has stricken again.

A: Services believe this will be his nine hundredth and sixty-seventh time at breaking his ban and this will be his final time being apprehended and will be his last.

A: The pirate was caught on Neverland Broadcasting Company (NBC) ‘’To Catch A Predator’’. Our news team caught the moments initiating his arrest. [Play Clip 1]

A: [Cutback] The villainous Captain Hook may be afraid of Crocodiles, but the real sea predator was caught today.

A: Drink flying; the new equivalent to drink driving has been on an increase for the past three years. Local boy Peter Pan was found drink flying around the forbidden land of ‘’Earth’’. [Play Clip 2]

A: [Cutback] Second Star to the right and straight into Big Ben.

A: [More Serious Tone Of Voice] He was last seen with three more suspects. If you see the ‘’Leader of the Lost Boys’’ contact Neverland police immediately.

A: Our final story of the night results in thousands of dead fish that have been stranded on the ocean, leaving local residents confused and concerned.

A: Local Crab Sebastian, The former Mermaid Ariel’s friend who accompanied her in transporting to Neverlands waters after being left refugee by her own waters in 2009 has commented on the effect of human waste dumped into the ocean and the toxin affecting sea life within a song.

A: Unfortunately, their song on sea life had been disrupted when a body collided on top of them. [ Play Clip 3]

A: [Cutback] It appears that the humans do believe in fairies, but sadly not in Global Warming.

A: This is your host [Hosts Name] with this evening’s news. Goodbye and stay young.

[News Outro Begins: Scene pans out from studio.]

Storyboard

The Storyboard is an essential piece of planning before I could begin filming. It allowed me to have an insight on how I’d present my written script and aid me in having a visual representation of how the finished piece would appear.

I coloured my Storyboard in and included as much detail as I could. The more of an idea I had for the studio theme, colour and the order of the clips being introduced it allowed me to have more of an idea when it came to actually filming it.

One thing evident in my News Studio Research is that my own scene is influenced by the Newsround New Set. Unlike mainstream news, Newsround is for teenagers, catering to 11 – 16 years old and appears to be casual, energetic and vibrant for it to appeal to younger viewers.

My News theme was ”Neverland News” suggesting it revolved around the audience of fantasy and appealed to juniors because of the Disney influence. I wanted it to cater to adults too. This involved having challenging issues but also had to have witty comebacks to appeal to the humour of both adults and teenagers.

The large age range also benefitted the ‘Neverland viewers” because although they would essentially ”never grow up” to be adults, that did not mean they couldn’t withstand more mature topics such as Global Warming and Drink Driving or ”Flying”. It shows Neverland children are as much capable of being informed about these issues as anywhere else.

The Storyboard has a simple transitioning, featuring all hard cuts. It will begin with an intro and end with the reversed image of the same outro.

Because the theme was in correlation with fantasy and being unable to age, I decided to play into the usage of time and made it appear as if the clock was reversing in the outro and going forward in the intro.

The theme of time was also present in my logo, where I would take inspiration from my opening sequence and follow suit with using the clocktower as the main representative of my news theme. It is a simple logo but executes a professional impression, as it looks like the top of the News Building is a hand of a clock; informing the viewer that it is time for the news.

Generate Digital Assets – Film in Groups

Set Up of Studio

We went in groups twice, once to be taught the layout of the studio and the second when we were filming. I took notes and would refer to them the second time I would arrive in Queens Road Campus.

Taking notes allowed me to be accurate and not rely on my memory of the set-up. I was surrounded by expensive equipment and wanted to make certain it was used and handled correctly.

Before my group was allowed to be alone in the studio, health and safety were required to know.

Health and Saftey

Some of the precautions we were informed about followed the risks of:

Tripping Hazards

Fingers Catching in Tripod

Electrocution

Overheating/Burning

Exposure

To minimise the chance of accidents happening we had to take careful precaution. The main issue were the leads. There were three lights and a camera to be connected with three extension leads; walking around during filming and in the dark would cause a high risk of tripping if not set up correctly.

In the image above, I learnt to coil the power cables tightly to avoid it becoming loose. Coiling tightly places the excess lead length out of a persons walking radius and is less likely to injure someone or the equipment if it is confined to a person is unlikely to walk.

While coiling the cables it is appropriate to check the leads for any signs of wear and tear or live wires sticking out. It is important to find these before turning them on because these could easily spark catch on fire or if touched, cause electrocution.

The second image reveals the perimeter of the Studio where the extension leads are confined to the corners of the room. The extension cables are straight and adjacent with the floor. Having them flat will reduce tripping over cables that have a kink in them, meaning it is less likely someone’s foot will curve under the lead and trip over it.

Another hazard we discussed was the risk of exposure and burning. The lights vary in intensity, ranging from 40 -1000 watts. This can be lethal for not only the equipment but the subject having to sit between the three lights and having the heat of the backlight burn the side of them.

Long takes of filming can also cause overheating of the equipment and exposure to the individual’s eyes. These issues can be avoided by using the handle lights located on the back of the equipment to avoid being burnt by prolong use of equipment when dismantling the lights.

The person should also not look directly into the lights and take intervals between filming to avoid short-term blindness and headaches. They should also make sure that their eyes adjust to the darkness of the room before recording.

List of Equipment Required

Tripod and Fluid Head

Sennheiser E100 Wireless Radio Mic Transmitter and Reciever

Batteries for Radio Mic

A JVC 100E Video Camcorder

Video Cards

Headphones

Extension Leads

Green Screen

Chair and Table

Fill, Key and Head Lights with Softboxes

Methodology

To create my Spoof News I first had to brainstorm ideas. A mind map was designed to explore potential themes and help me come to a conclusion with the route I wanted to pursue.

After I decided my theme, my secondary research continued into investigating clips I could potentially twist and use into my News Reel. Deciding my theme first would help eliminate the majority of videos on YouTube and help me to focus on a few to match my chosen theme.

I eventually decided to choose Neverland News. I found it would challenge me as a designer as I would have to twist a children’s film into a new genre that evokes a serious tone instead of a child-like one. Peter Pan and a News Spoof is not coherent regarding presentation and audience. I thought the outcome would be unique for people to watch a children’s show be interpreted into a more formal, mature setting.

Before I recorded my News Spoof in Queens Road. I would first research news sets and compare them with existing news sets. Doing this allowed me to have an understanding of how to present my own set and the layout.

I would then create my own News Set designs inspired by the News Set research. My own designs would incorporate my chosen theme and the designs of the BBC, Newsround and other World Wide sets I found myself inspired by.

As soon as my script was approved by my lecturer I was able to go to Queens Road and film. Inspired by the informality of Newsround presenters, I dressed casually to appeal to a younger demographic.

The anchorman wore a camo shirt to indicate a ”Lost Boy” aesthetic and gave the impression they were a part of the Neverland community.

I researched beforehand the characters and costumes and many in Neverland incorporated leaves in their garments. I didn’t wear leaves or facepaint because I did not want my face to twitch from being irritated by it and then interrupt filming.

I was also working with a short deadline and wanted to make sure my time was spent on perfecting the script instead of creating a costume. I found wearing facepaint and leaves would be too child-like and despite the theme being centred around fantasy, I wanted to portray a formal, news-like setting which attracted a more mature audience too.

After filming went successfully I imported my video into Adobe Premiere Pro with the correct format and size required for my assignment. The file was originally a large one, with all of my groups filming saved onto one file.

I used the markers to cue in and out of when my recording was and then extracted it to use separately. This left me with the unedited footage that was only my half of the recording.

Using mark in and out cues is a form of non-destructive editing. The process consists of marking a starting and end point of a video the person desire to use. When marked it can be dragged into the timeline while the original file remains intact.

I will be using the same technique to crop large portions of my chosen News Spoof clips off and to add to my news spoof.

Photoshop

Photoshop was a large part of my design work just as Premiere Pro was. I designed my logo and news set on the editing program which helped me to conjoin my footage that was hanging in a transparent void into becoming a convincing news set.

I used a pre-existing base for my studio, it reminded me of BBC’s current set where it is circular. It added an illusion of depth and made the scene look more life-like. Editions were made to the set, such as the background.

To fit in with the theme of Neverland I copied the window panels of the Studio template and stretched them above. This helped me to keep consistency in perspective but also to save me time from having to draw them out.

To make the studio look more Peter Pan themed. I took the magic wand tool and cut out the square planes and used one of my digital paintings of a forest to slide behind the transparent windows.

This I found gave an impression that the Studio was located in a forest, where the Lost Boys live. It also adds a mystical element to the piece as the soft light catches the studio and gives a fairy-dream-like glow to it.

Back onto Premiere Pro I edited the composition. Despite keying out the Green Screen, in editing, I also found the ability to tamper with the vibrancy, saturation and colours of the video.

My studio background appeared extremely bright so I wanted to make sure it was consistent. I did not want the anchorman to be tinted with a red tonal skin and dark hues if the background was sunshine and vibrant.

In the preview screen and the unedited screen, I can see the impact the colour correction has created. Not only has it abolished the red blotches but the skin is lighter and suggests the anchorman is in a beaming environment.